Readiness Inventory for Successful Entrepreneurship (RISE)
The Readiness Inventory for Successful Entrepreneurship (RISE) is an entrepreneurship skills assessment tool that measures the level of skill of an individual entrepreneur or the complementary skills of an entrepreneurial team. It assesses 30 “essential” skills of entrepreneurship (identified through research) in four domains of skill: Transformation Management, Relationship Management, Business Management, and Organizational Process Management. Entrepreneurs are paired with a coach to take the assessment and to use the results to mutually develop an action plan for addressing skill weaknesses and leveraging skill strengths. The tool can be used to establish a skills baseline and track progress toward skill development. It can also be useful to making strategic matches between entrepreneurs and the resources they require for success.
The RISE has been used in a variety of settings, including institutions of higher education where it is employed to facilitate the skills development process in entrepreneurship programs; in large private organizations as a tool for developing entrepreneurial leaders; in nonprofit organizations to encourage entrepreneurial thinking and acting; and in entrepreneurship-focused economic development programs to foster small business growth and development.
The RISE was developed from the communication perspective, allowing it to link the skills assessment process to evidence-based practice. The original version was known as the Entrepreneurial League System Assessment (ELSA) and was a paper and pencil assessment tool that took an average of two hours to complete. It has since migrated to a web-based platform and is easy to learn and use.